“I’m so tired of all of this, Remy,” I whispered, rubbing my temple. “I just want to spend a day without being worried the world is going to fucking implode around us. One day where we’re just normal people.”
He smiled. “I know, babe. I’m tired, too. I promise it will all be over, and we’ll have that normal. Or whatever normal is for us because I have a feeling life with you, Skye Markham, will be anything except normal.”
I choked on a laugh. “So, you’re saying I’m weird?”
“Definitely the weirdest girl I’ve ever met,” he confirmed with a grin.
I shook off the blanket of sadness that wrapped itself around my shoulders. “Any word on your dad?”
His smile melted as fast as snow in New Mexico. “Nothing new.”
“Dammit,” I muttered as I heard the shower turn off. I glanced at the clock and realized I only had a few minutes before Nikolai would be coming to get me.
“What’s up?” Remy asked, noticing my attention drifting.
“Nikolai will be here soon. We’re going to talk to Elias. Maybe get some answers.”
“Okay. Call me later. Actually, call Katy or Larkin. They miss you, and they’re driving me crazy.” He rolled his eyes with a warm laugh.
“I will,” I said softly, loving the sound of his laugh and the way it brightened the spark in his chocolate gaze. “I’ll talk to you guys soon, okay?”
“Yeah. I love you.”
“Love you,” I said, hanging up as the bathroom door opened and Tate emerged.
She rubbed her damp hair with a towel as she walked over to the window and pulled the curtains open. “Holy shit. Did you look at this?”
I got up and crossed the room, joining her at the window. My jaw dropped at the sight before me.
Snow blanketed everything, still falling in thick flakes, but it was the town sprawled beneath us that caught my breath. Seeing it in the daylight was breathtaking.
I never grew up believing in Santa Claus, but I imagined this was what the village the elves lived in had looked like. It was all twinkling lights, gently sloped roofs, and people bustling around.
“Are we in the North Pole?” Tate whispered, pressing her nose against the cool glass as she hopped on my train of thought.
“Maybe?” I had no idea, but this wasn’t anything like I expected.
I turned as someone knocked on the door.
“It’s open,” I called.
Dimitri stuck his head in. “You ready to go?” His gaze landed on Tate and widened. “Hey. You’re up.”
“Yeah,” she replied, looking at him. She squinted at him. “Thanks, you know, for knocking me unconscious and kidnapping me.”
He puffed out his cheeks in thought. “I feel like you’re not entirely sincere.”
“I’m not,” she deadpanned flatly. “Do it again and I’ll rip your balls off to hang on my Christmas tree.”
“The alternative was leaving you behind and possibly being taken by Norwood. I made a choice. Deal with it.”
“Tate wants to come with us,” I told him.
“Tate wasn’t invited,” he told me with a tight smile. “It’s a family thing.”
I grabbed her hand. “And Tate is my family.”
Dimitri paused for a minute, watching us before he sighed in defeat. “Fine. Whatever. But we’re leaving now.”
I squeezed Tate’s hand. “Okay. Let’s go.”
21
Skye
It was pretty freaking cool to watch Tate’s face shift from skepticism to amazement to shock as we traveled through the house and back into the mountain.
“This place is insane,” she whispered to me as we crossed into the prison section I had been in earlier.
I nodded, my eyes catching on the man leaning casually against the wall ahead without a care in the world. He casually typed out a message on his cell phone before pushing it into his pocket and straightening as we approached.
Amazing how my father could be completely calm one minute and a bloodthirsty psychopath the next.
Nikolai smiled warmly at Tate. “And you must be the lovely Tate.”
“Yeah,” she said quietly. “Hi, I guess.”
Nikolai didn’t seem deterred by her uneasy demeanor at all. “Welcome to my home, although I am sorry it is due to such unfortunate circumstances. My condolences on the loss of your father.”
Tate winced, pain flashing across her face and pulling her features taut for a second.
“Tate knows Elias, too,” I said, needing to change the focus. “She wanted to be here when we questioned him.”
“Unfortunately there isn’t a viewing gallery in this room,” Nikolai replied, still smiling. “But there is a small one-way window she is free to observe from.”